Blood Spelunking Chapter 0 - 3

[FattyLumpkin]

Blood Spelunking Prologue

The Veyrfall Temple of Water was still once. The waters came from cracks in the stone high up and tumbled down the many rings of walkways that lined the temple walls. It would flow so perfectly one might mistake it for glass. It cascaded down the stone work, gathering into scores of reflecting pools that filled and drained at a constant rate, giving the appearance of a rippling sheet. The flow continued to the grotto below that burbled with springs and geysers, spreading far into shadow and mystery. The Temple was still no longer.

The bombardment of the surface began weeks ago. Now the water trembled. The once peaceful streams sputtered and spat angrily in erratic patterns. The reflecting pools showed shattered mimicries of the refugees that prayed in front of them. Those on the higher reaches of the temple rings were assailed by falling debris. There were too many of them here, and they could not stay much longer. The air was becoming toxic and thick. But the fact that they were still here at all suggested the Imperium did not know of this underground temple. They prayed, though they knew naught what to pray for anymore. Life would never be the same. They prayed for the next second, and the second after that.

Veyrfall had never been given the opportunity to comply. Upon discovery by the Imperium, they were deemed tainted. The faith the planet was built upon was too virulent to allow it to fester. The people of the planet would be annihilated, or assimilated.

For a short span of time the explosions abated. The quiet permeated the survivors, and then turned to panic. This was not deliverance. Hope for such a thing left them long ago.

A massive kinetic weapon crashed through the roof of the temple and brought the end with it. The projectile detonated the ceiling like a mining charge. The shock wave was so powerful that many were killed instantly from the percussive force. As it ripped through the temple at an angle its supreme heat vaporized the water around it. The weapon embedded itself in the grotto below, and the temple walls collapsed inward. Within seconds all that remained was a steaming crater, littered with dead.

The temple of water was the heart of Veyrfall's capital city, a massive sprawling flood plain with farm paddies and villages as far as the eye could see. Large city centers dotted the landscape at regular intervals, and shallow creeks with small river boats connected them. All now lay in ruin, obliterated from the days of relentless assault. The dead seed the landscape. The paddies and small tributaries turned pink with blood and changed their course to fill the crater that was once the temple.

The compliance of Veyrfall was achieved, and so began the long effort of The Tithe. Veyrfall was a large planet, with rich soil and many complex hydrologic features that made it ideal for producing food for the Imperium. Farms that spanned the horizon were planted with mega crops that sucked the flood plains dry. Natural reservoirs of water both fresh and salty were turned into highly efficient mechanized breeding pools that required large freight ships to harvest.

The Imperium, ever pragmatic, saw the ruins of the temple of water, and the large mass of remaining city infrastructure, and found it a suitable place to lay the foundations of a hive. They brought the dead from miles around and dumped them into the crater.

And so the temple became a tomb. Over long centuries the crater filled with earth. The citizens forgot what little they knew of what it once was, and it became their own place for revering the dead. They entombed the deceased in ever climbing catacombs that soon met the surface and became a graveyard that spanned kilometers.

Over centuries more generational crypts and tall mausoleums climbed into the sky, and at the same time sank into the soft earth. The planet's natural tendency towards uniformity would see the surface of the plains rise for generations to come, and crypts that once cast tall shadows saw their roofs covered in dirt. Eventually the great graveyard was connected to the nearby hives superstructure. Thousands of years of the dead now connected by plasteel and ferrocrete to the living.

With the sweeping recognition of the ecclesiastical truth, plans to build the Basilica Sepulchra Imperialis were made. A grand cathedral that spoke of the Emperor's divinity from atop generations of the dutiful and honorable dead. The outer bounds of the graveyard were encircled by low defensive spires, creating a courtyard in which a massive burial slab was built, and on top of this slab the Basilica was erected, and the planet renamed Veyrfall Sanctus.

The wealthy aristocrats of the hive invested heavily in the Basilica. Hundreds of years were spent on its creation. Generations of menial workers created communities and family lines around the production of the sacred stained glass that made up the entirety of the building. After its completion highways are formed leading to the great work. Parishioners and pilgrims came from every corner of the planet to see the magnificent tombstone of the planet's honored dead.

As centuries pass, space below the Basilica becomes scarce, and the structure itself sinks into the ground further. The hive grows taller next to it, and the church must be raised periodically. Great ancient mechanisms of the Mechanicus attach the burial slab at the Cathedrals base to the spires that surround it, and raise it when the need is met.

Now, in the era M.41 corruption unveiled sits at the heart of the Basilica Sepulchra Imperialis, and after ten thousand years, the dead it guards may not have been safe after all.


CHAPTER 1


The Governor of Veyrfall held his head in his hands in disbelief. His office was a mess of velum and drained amasec bottles. Veyrfall had never missed a tithe. At least, not that anyone living could remember. Why, oh why did it have to happen during his tenure? The thought brought fresh pangs of apathy and depression. Someone would be along to kill him sooner or later. They would install a more suitable governor, someone who would claim this tragedy was avoidable, and that he was incompetent.

There had never been a drought on Veyrfall before, and certainly nothing as strange as this. Not only had the rain stopped, but all of the features that made Veyrfall such a reliable agri-world had begun to fail. Mountain streams were diverted in odd ways counter to millennia of worn waterways. Vapor introduced to the atmosphere dissipated at a rate that did not make sense. Currents that maintained the livestock of the breeding oceans were failing, plunging the planet into a heat wave.

He filled his glass again. He told himself this wasn't happening long enough to close his eyes and down its contents. The potent alcohol burned his throat and landed in his empty gut with a sickening splash that reminded him of the worst of it.

The water the people of the planet did have access to had become tainted, somehow. Even the amasec that he drank made him feel sick. He was sweating and wanted to wretch, but the alcohol made it feel familiar at least. The drinking water of the planet began to have adverse effects on the population, though symptoms were rarely the same. Some were driven mad by it. Some claimed it boiled their tongue as they drank it. Unquenchable thirst, lethal dysentery, advanced dehydration. Some drank the water until it killed them, so parched they were. They could drink it, and needed to. But it was not without a cost, and always came with pain

It has been six months since the rainy season should have begun, and the people of the planet were beginning to forget what it was like to live with drinkable, healing water. He opened his eyes again. The Inquisition had arrived today. If anyone needed proof that things were serious, this was it. He had heard of the cult outbreak in the Capital Hive, and took appropriate measures to ensure that it had not spread to his Hive. He was certain it had not. Even so, he would surely be meeting with the Inquisitor or an envoy soon. The thought actually made him wretch, and he aimed at the corner he had designated for the act.

– – –

“Come here! Where are you!”

The door to the field house was kicked in by the foreman's strong mechanical leg. He was an extremely grizzled man, his right side mostly mechanized after various farming incidents. He paused in the doorway to look; the boys in the house all scattering from his sight.

“You! You little :cuss! Think you deserve more water an tha rest of us?”

He pointed at a young boy that had been caught stealing water rations earlier in the day. He stomped over to him with his pounding, lopsided gait.

“Come here!” He bellowed as he grabbed the boy by his scruffy hair.

The smell of amasec permeated the cabin as the old farmhand came for him. He turned and dragged the boy behind, screaming now for help. The others in the cabin watched, dumbfounded. The old man dragged him out of the door muttering

“I know what'll do it... I know the stories...”

The old man dragged the boy far out into the dry mounds of tilled earth that should have sprouted long ago. The screaming brought other workers out of their field houses with lanterns and torches. They saw what was happening and stood stock still, confused. The Foreman brought him out far enough that his cries could barely be heard, and the darkness began to swallow them. The watching workers edged forward and angled their lights attempting to see.

They saw the flickering outline of the Foreman hold the boy up at eye level with his strong mechanized hand. The boy kicked and squirmed and flailed his arms to no avail. They could see the foreman pull something off of his belt, and in a brutal motion that allowed no resistance, ripped it across the boy's throat. The watching workers' desire to witness the event left them. One dropped his lantern. They saw the flickering man hold the now still body above the ground with both hands.

After a few moments the watching workers became nervous. They needed to get to their bunks now or they would be next. They began to snuff their torches and shutter their lanterns in a rush. They turned and started to run to their cabins. As they ran, they felt something in the air. They touched the backs of their necks, and their hands came away wet with water. They looked up to the sky, and out of the smog filled sky of a near hive plantation, droplets were falling. It was raining.

The drizzle became a shower, and the boys opened their mouths instinctively, their lips cracked, and their mouths filled with sores. They braced themselves for the pain that it would bring, that all water has brought them for the last half a cycle. But it did not come. The cool water soothed their wounds, cleaned their bodies, and nourished their souls. They became lost in an incomparable joy, and thoughts of the boy that got caught stealing water rations left their minds.

The shower became a storm, and as the boy drank their fill from their own cupped hands, they saw the Foreman walking past. His head was down. He walked straight to his cabin, and shut the door. The boys watched him pass. Their jubilation faded. They had better just get to their bunks. There would be work in the morning.

– – – – – –

“The galaxy is vast and full of horror. Only by the Emperor's infinite vigil are we delivered in these strange decades.  Xenos that fester in the dark, corrupt the soul, and devour all. Long limbed strange faced mockeries of the holy human form that feed upon your suffering, like a sweet honey. Great tides of green skinned beasts that live only to slaughter."

The preacher stood in front of a large golden aquila, planted unceremoniously in the town square. A small crowd was gathering from alleys and crowded townhouses around.

“You are the Emperor's tools! Only by your endless effort does the Imperium survive! The Emperor's currency is human lives, and he is rich like no king has ever been or ever will be. Your efforts are not wasted. Your contributions do not go unnoticed.”

The preacher moved to talk to the people in the crowd face to face, grabbing them each by the hands.

“The galaxy is vast and full of horror. Screaming demons that expand your consciousness with new depths of terror. Vile rot that blooms in your soul and spews out of your mouth and on to all that you love. Winged creatures the size of star systems bedecked in skulls the likes of yours and mine. Incomprehensible horror that will leave you gibbering, only able to feel, and perceive.”

“In times of struggle, in times of great cosmic horror, in the face of unbelievable, unfathomable suffering and evil. Strange tithings are needed. The Emperor needs you, fellow devoted. The laws of the cosmos do not bend to you or me! They do not bend to our reason, logic, and morality. They bend to the will of the Emperor, and no other!”

With this the priest took a knife out of his robes and put it to his palm.

“The galaxy is vast and full of Horror, and The Emperor will save us all. You have heard news of the neighboring hive and their good fortune. With man's holy blood comes healing rain!”

The preacher opened a deep wound in his palm, and the blood landed on the ground with a splash. He went to a member of the crowd and gingerly offered the knife to them.

“Bleed for the emperor.” he said

The woman nodded and screwed her eyes shut. She closed her hand around the blade and screamed as she pulled it out. Her blood joined the preachers in the grass. He brought the knife to the next devotee. They said no words, only enacted the ritual. And on to the next.

After the fifth parishioner had cut their palm open, someone in the crowd quietly said,

“Look...”

They pointed at the aquilla. It was covered in beads of water. The preacher left the knife with the flock, and walked to the statue. The moisture in the air was clinging to it, and forming streams down its fine details. A breeze pulled the air towards them.

“The Emperor sees us! Fellow devoted, rejoice in his glory!”

The crowd kneeled as one. Those with wounded hands held them over the ground, their offering made. They passed the knife to those waiting to pay tribute. The water from the aquilla was forming streams that reached the crowd. They dipped their hands in and drank the bloody water, and it did not hurt them. The preacher stood and turned to observe his flock.

There was one person not kneeling. She was tall, wore a long leather jacket with a high collar and black hair. She held a pistol of incredible value in her right hand.

“Heretic”

A voice so loud it made the crowd reel in pain blasted through the plaza. The preacher fell back on his haunches in front of the aquila, gripping his ears in pain. The sound was so great his vision was blurred and he thought he was going to throw up. The figure approached the preacher, and once within easy shooting distance, unleashed a beam of red energy from her pistol that erased the man's head and shoulders. The woman turned to the terrified parishioners, and spoke in her harmfully loud voice.

“Return to your homes. Planetary quarantine by order of The Inquisition is now in effect.”


Chapter 2


Calpurnia watched the burned shrine district pass beneath her.  She stood in the open doors of a transport that brought her from a hive halfway across the planet.  She used the time to rest, and awoke to the planet's strange purple moonlight.  It cast varying depths of violet coloration that made it difficult to discern where shadows began and light ended.  On the ground countless Inquisition personnel and Mechanicus adepts worked with servitor teams to neutralize the district.

The district was burned roughly eight months ago.  It was Calpurnia's first order, her decision made before she made planetfall.  The outbreak of the Khornate cultists had been an incident severe enough to condemn the planet in the eyes of the Inquisition.  Calpurnia's intervention had saved the planet, but a stain remained on its soul.  Calpurnia burned the district and anyone that remained inside.  Neighboring districts were evacuated and now being demolished in order to create an impassable quarantine zone, disconnecting the shrine district from the hive.

The only structure left for kilometers was the The Basilica Sepulchra Imperialis, and its protective spires.  The transport flew along the grand processional highway, which led to a part in the spires encirclement, the entrance to The Basilica.  Calpurnia had seen picts of the building in its glory, and it was truly one of a kind.  Never before had Calpurnia seen such a large structure made entirely of stained glass.  Now, coming to dominate her view was an ugly building smudged with endless layers of black.  The Basilica was the epicenter of the outbreak, and for the time being held to much valuable information to destroy

Corruption has spread planet wide, of that Calpurnia was certain.  If the planet were to survive the wider Inquisition must never know this, Calpurnia also knew.  This was an infection like none she had seen before.  The water was tainted, and behaving strangely the planet over.  Out of desperation the planet's devoted citizens had begun to lean on old superstitions and macabre rituals, and they were working.  Blood sacrifices have been reported from every corner of the planet, and with the sacrifices came bountiful gifts of clean nourishing water.  The planet was now under strict quarantine, and many perished daily.  If the corruption could not be cleansed, it would be them all, through one means or another

Calpurnia's transport landed in one of the many docking bays that crisscrossed the spires surrounding the Basilica.  She looked out the interior.  Here is where the blood priest Kayde had unleashed his tide of slaughter and revealed the corruption that flowed into the planet's heart.  The Basilica stood in a burned courtyard big enough to hold millions of pilgrims, and a great sphere of absent material encompassed its pavilion and forward wings– the site of the blood priest's ultimate heresy.  She boarded another smaller transport that would bring her to the entrance en route to her destination below.

The craft flew around to the building's rear and touched down close to its base.  It kicked up a flurry of ash and Calpurnia covered her face as she rushed out.  The scale of the building was absurd.  She tried to think how long it would take her to walk around it all.  It could be done in under a day, she thought, if you stayed close to the building.  There was an access hatch set at the Basilicas base.  Calpurnia lifted it open and it was dark inside.  The passage glowed with a warm amber light.  She stepped down into the passage and saw the ceiling was marked with a line of lumen paste down the middle.  The tech priest's way of marking paths.

The catacombs of the Basilica first aroused suspicion immediately after the Malum Vigilia had managed to contain the outbreak.  The priest's final bloody sacrifice was his flock, and any they had marked for sacrifice.  Every cult member and captured citizen died an agonizing death as the blood left their bodies and fueled a torrential storm in the courtyard.  At least, this is what compiled reports told them.  The cult had been transporting the captives into the catacombs through the two entrances located in the district.  Their exsanguinated corpses led them to the ritual chamber, Calpurnia's destination.

She descended the stairs brushing cobwebs out of her face.  She emerged into a wide open room lit by a scattering of low powered lumens.  Dozens of tables layered with scrolls and maps filled the room.  Passages lined the walls with diagrams beside them illustrating their paths and detailing their purpose.  Calpurnia saw the path she needed to take marked on the ceiling above.  It led past the sign that said “LIFT”.  Calpurnia felt the tech priest might think her simple.  But the markings were likely not solely for her benefit.

The lights did not go far into the passages, and soon she was glad for the lumen paste, although she was never without light with her augmented eye and altered vision.  She emerged into another large chamber.  On either side of her were two roads big enough to drive vehicles down, and in the center was a lift large enough to carry them.  If the diagrams she had seen before were correct, she was now at the center of the courtyard, and the roads were the two main entrances to the catacombs from the district.  This was the corpse lift.

Calpurnia stepped onto the massive lift and pressed the rune for the lowest floor.  The catacombs were wider than they were deep, but even so Calpurnia lost track of the layers as they passed.  The higher up layers were all man made.  The mechanism for the Basilica's raising was detailed to her by some of the planet's older officials.  When the Basilica is raised, empty space is left and a new system of dessicating shelves and lavish tombs would be erected.  The wealthy tended to stay towards the top, while the poor were dried, and their bones brought lower.  It was considered a privilege of the hive to be buried beneath the Basilica, and it gave many a sense of reward for a life lived in toil.

The last layer that the elevator brought her too was different, now the walls were carved out of hard packed earth and clay.  She had passed when the burial stone and Basilica were erected, into the massive city sized graveyard that it was built upon and cut into.  The tombs and ossuaries at this level went deeper themselves, but the lift stopped here.  From the tech priests' reports there were hundreds of passages at this level which obstructed the path to the ritual chamber, but as always, the ceiling was marked glow paste. 

Calpurnia followed the glow paste trail through many twists and turns that eventually straightened out to a long hallway.  She could see the glow paste trail ahead end with a passage into a room filled with light.  She emerged into a long wide room, filled with artificial sunlight from servo skulls above.  The entire room was slanted slightly to the left.  Dark passages lined the walls.  Far to the right there were two sets of stone steps that led to a raised edge.  Calpurnia could just see the teams of servitors that stood at the top of the stairs.  In the middle of the chamber, from the space in the center of the steps, to the catacomb halls on her left, was a meandering depression in the soft clay, stained bright red.  Calpurnia walked to the channel in the ground and knelt in front of it.  The earth was still wet.  Drops of blood glinted at her in the light.

She followed the damp stream to its source up the stairs.  As she climbed the servitors backed away, giving her space.  Above them hummed hundreds of servos skulls waiting to be deployed.  At the top of the stairs was the sacrificial cistern.  A shallow depression in the earth with a lowered lip to form the mouth of the river.  It was many meters wide and criss-crossed with walkways that sat stained in the blood.  The many chains that had been used for the sacrifices were bound together and held in the center above them, and the long barbed poles they used were stacked in a pile against the wall.  She walked further around the great mass of blood.  It should have been hardening, congealing, darkening in color.  Degrading somehow.  But it was as bright as though fresh from a wound.  In contrast, the walls and floors around the pool were stained by layers of blood from red to black.  Calpurnia had ordered the pool left alone for now.  Such things held power.

As Calpurnia looked into the pool she considered how many must have died above it over the years.  She did not want to think of a real number.  So, so many.  She thought of the sacrifices around the planet, and the drought.  All signs pointed to this corruption having deeper roots than anyone knew.  Perhaps Kayde and his line of bloody priests were acting as the planet's saviors, in the only way they knew how.  There had never been a drought recorded on Veyrfall.  Could the planet's history of trading blood for water trace back to its pre Imperial culture?  Ten thousand years of blood.  Longer.  The thought was unbelievable. 

+It is good to see you again, Inquisitor Thorne.+  She heard a low robotic voice from behind her.

Calpurnia snapped to attention.  She was staring at her reflection in the pool.  She did not know how long she had been there looking.  She turned to see Pathfinder Drayvus Kern, the mechanicus adept she had chosen for this mission.  He was... complicated looking.  Every piece of his body was something else, a tool or appendage of some sort, tucked neatly into an average six foot male frame.  The most plain piece of his body was his head, a blank polished head shape, covered by his single adornment, a ragged Mechanicus hood.  He was bereft of clothing, but also flesh, and it did not come across as indecent.

“Hello Drayvus” Calpurnia said, turning from the pool

Upon turning around Calpurnia saw a cluster of machines against the wall of the cavern. It looked halfway between a bio chemical lab and a steel forge, though it was cold at the moment. She gave Drayvus a look and asked

“What is this?” Gesturing at the equipment.

+Do you remember when I asked your permission to take samples from the pool? I had an idea, I told you. This was the idea.+

Drayvus walked over to the chemical forge contraption. Calpurnia followed and saw the intricate system that Drayvus had created. On the left were many flasks and beakers marked with different anti-chaos runes of varying severity. There were piles of incense near the beakers, and mountains of candle wax under the material they heated. The system became enclosed at the point where it connected to the forge, which consisted of a major heating element and various dies for shaping.

Drayvus walked to the end of the blood forge and picked up a tiny iron bracelet off an anvil.

+We are still examining the properties of the blood forged iron. So far we have not observed corrosion, and we have not been able to break it, though it can be cut with extreme heat. No trace of corruption lingers after the sanctification rituals.+

Drayvus held it out to her. +Take it. It may offer protection+

Calpurnia took the bracelet and affixed it around her wrist. It felt strange. That was all she could note about it.

+Come Inquisitor, you must meet Sister Cassandra.+

Drayvus led her to the far end of the pool, where a woman knelt with her hands in the sign of the Aquila, praying.  She was in the traditional bronze battle plate of the Silent Sisters.  She wore a gorget that covered the bottom half of her face.  Funny, similar to Calpurnia's leather collar, she thought.  Her head was shaved bald save for a short topknot that ended in a shock of blond hair.   Beside her lay a large blade that could cleave a man in two.

“Greetings Sister”  Calpurnia said

Sister Cassandra's eyes opened and found Calpurnias instantly.  Her irises were bright orange.  She stood and bowed to Calpurnia, again making the sign of the aquila.  Calpurnia returned the gesture. 

+And if you will now follow me to our supplies.  We can begin the expedition soon.+

Calpurnia nodded.  The Tech Priest turned about and the Silent Sister followed.  Calpurnia lingered a second.  Something caught her eye in the pool.  She looked near where Cassandra had knelt.  The blood on the edge was darker.  It had dried in her presence.


Chapter 3

The nausea that came with the stench of this place was made worse by traveling with a silent sister. Calpurnia kept behind by a few paces when it was possible, both to abate the symptoms, and also to note any changes in the surroundings as she passed. This place was saturated with the Warp, and the Sisters' lack of connection could reveal many things, in theory.

The level they were on was an Ossuary; a bone reservoir. The walls were covered in scenes depicted in bone. Internal walls were made out of human femurs. Skulls watched from every corner. There was no active decay down here, all the remains were completely dry after centuries in desiccation. They passed rooms with huge piles of bones, sorted by type, to be used throughout the tunnels as building material, or artwork. Calpurnia wondered how long it had been since this part of the tombs had been used. She knew it currently was not, the prospect of venturing this deep with remains no longer made sense when they still had vertical space to spare, with the growing size of the hive, and land surrounding.

Drayvus led them, though not in person. He was manning a servo skull in their company while scouting ahead. Multi tasking was ever a specialty of the Mechanicus. He stayed roughly an hour ahead of them, carving a path with his teams of servitors, leaving them marked with high potency lumen paste.

They had set out from the ritual chamber following the river, but this quickly proved to be a faulty strategy. The river bed itself was dry, but the places where the blood had pooled were not. Entire chambers were filled with the ever-fresh cursed blood. Passages were flooded where once the blood flow had forced it to continue further, but now stagnated. There were points where Drayvus was able to erect various methods of traversing the blood, but it often became more prudent to simply find a way around the flooded areas. As long as Drayvus could confirm that the river had still been flowing down, they just needed to go down as well.

They came upon a passage that was flooded completely, but not for very far. Drayvus was able to erect a tense wire both on the ground and ceiling and instructed them to use them to traverse it. Cassandra hopped on to the wire and held the one on the ceiling with a single hand. Calpurnia admired Cassandra a great deal. She might have been the most confident person Calpurnia had ever met. Maybe all Silent sisters were this way. She walked with an aura that would make an Astartes falter. Everyone was changed when faced with a silent sister. The sister remained the same.

Calpurnia attempted to follow her example when she could. So far the journey had gone by without incident, and it was easy to be brave. But the time was coming for them to rest for a period. None of the three of them needed much sleep, but they all did need some. They found a chamber dominated by an aquilla made of hand bones, and set the servitors to guard its entrance. They had not encountered anything living, nor any signs of active chaos infection so far, but they remained ready. They would stop for four hours. Drayvus would remain half conscious with the servitors and rest his other half.

As Calpurnia lay down her bed roll she talked with Drayvus.

“So, what do you think we've gotten ourselves into?” They had not talked much during the journey so far, both of them focused on making sure the expedition began on solid footing.

+Speculation as to the nature of Chaos is inherently fallible, and leads to bias in preparation for any eventuality.+

Calpurnia paused for a moment.

“You could just say you don't know.”

+What we are “in for” is the result of centuries of ritual Khornate sacrifice. The archenemy has already cast their gaze upon this planet.+

“Do you think we will be able to cleanse it?” Calpurnia asked, not liking the tone of his mechanical voice.

+The planet may be cleansed by exterminatus. Purification can always be achieved. Our mission is to determine the severity of the infection, and formulate a fitting plan. We will be successful in this role.+

Calpurnia could not argue with the Tech Priest. She looked over to sister Cassandra, who responded with a dire glare, and set her bed roll out. They lay down with their backs against the hand bone aquilla, facing the entrance to the chamber. Drayvus sat on the large coffin that the room was built around, watching the entrance. Calpurnia closed her regular eye and set her augmetic to wake her in the case of movement.

Four hours later Calpurnia awoke refreshed. Every time she woke she was extremely pleased with her augment to reduce her need for sleep. It did not only that, but gave her extremely high quality rest as well.

She sat up and saw Cassandra was already in her waking meditations, and Drayvus was fetching supplies from the servitors. Even with her augment, she was last to wake. She thought herself lucky to be part of such a disciplined team. Drayvus brought her a nutrient bar and bottle of clean water from off world.

+We will make much progress today Inquisitor.+

He brought a nutrient bar and water to Cassandra.

+Take your time preparing yourselves, and let me know via the skull when you are ready for guidance. I will depart now.+

“Thank you Drayvus.” Calpurnia said, snapping open the bottle and taking a drink.

“Do not get too far ahead. If we need you I don't want to wait for an hour.”

+Affirmative Inquisitor, my apologies. The catacombs are fascinating.+

Calpurnia nodded to him and Drayvus took his leave, the majority of the servitors and a swarm of servo skulls going with him. Calpurnia looked to Cassandra. She had slept in her armor, but now seemed to think better of it. She removed her gorget first and drank some water. She stood and placed the piece of armor in the corner, and began to remove her gauntlets.

Calpurnia was hot, near to sweating. She too had slept in her gear and thought to shed her long leather jacket. She rolled her long sleeves and tied her hair back, and affixed the hems of her pants to her legs with cloth to avoid catching on anything. She looked back at Cassandra and saw she was now in her simple under armor leathers, with her arms and legs similarly tied.

They finished their morning rations and hailed Drayvus via the servo skull.

“We are ready, Drayvus. We have some belongings left behind in the chamber, see that a servitor brings them back to the surface.”

+Affirmative, Inquisitor.+ the skull said

“Then let us depart” Calpurnia said, and the servo skull floated out into the hall

+The next passage below is unobstructed, this way.+ it said.

Drayvus was already a layer below them. Calpurnia sighed, and gestured to Cassandra to follow first. Her stomach turned as the sister passed. The nutrient bar had hit her gut. Calpurnia had almost tuned out the unpleasant presence of the sister, but felt it again now. A pressure built behind the eyes upon looking at her, yet it was hard to look away. The mind reeled in the presence of a Sister, certain that something is wrong. A feeling of perpetual readiness, and confusion. Calpurnia let her get a few paces ahead before she followed.

They came upon the passage downward quickly, a simple staircase cut out of the corpse-fill. Drayvus' lumen paste was applied on the ceiling of every tight corridor that branched away from the stairs. The paths were getting smaller, more claustrophobic. There was evidence of structural sinking everywhere, bone structures jutting out of the corpse dirt, half submerged mausoleums pressed down by the weight of the countless dead above them. The layers were built at a huge scale and still gave them room to maneuver, but if the pattern continued they soon would not.

They had not seen the river yet today, but Drayvus assured them it continued downward. The main obstacle now was cave ins or blocked passages. The next path downward was likely in one of the adjacent chambers that had been crushed closed by too much infrastructure, and they had no way to access it. Invasive construction endeavors were extremely risky down here, as well as time consuming, and would be a last resort. So far, Drayvus has been able to find non destructive paths downward.

The path went through a mausoleum that spanned levels. It was smashed against the higher layer and pressed at an angle. It was made of dark black material, with sharp edges and no outer adornment. The door was cracked open, and Drayvus had pried the rubble aside. Stepping into the old mausoleum was like stepping out of the underworld for a moment. The inside was free of dirt and debris. The black marble gleamed in the light of the lumen paste. The walls were lined with matching black marble coffins adorned with busts and names of the deceased, written in shimmering gold. They followed the stairs downwards to find more of the same. The exit was a collapsed wall that led back into the underworld.

They made good progress, and even though Calpurnia had not been watching her chrono, and there was no sunlight to tell them the time, she estimated it was roughly “mid day” by the time they cleared two more levels.

“Drayvus, let us take a break. How long has it been?”

+Ten hours Inquisitor. I am impressed by your endurance.+

Longer than she had thought.  Calpurnia looked to Cassandra, who seemed significantly less haggard than her, and raised an eyebrow in response.

“Yes, let us take a break.” Calpurnia said, motioning a servitor towards her to dig in its pack for a bottle of water.

+Just the same Inquisitor, I believe we may have reached an obstacle.+ Drayvus' blue eyed servo skull said, hovering towards her.

+Scans and preliminary scouting are not revealing a path downward after the next level. I will examine more while you rest.+

Calpurnia left it at that and walked a good twenty paces away from Cassandra. She turned to rest her back against the wall, and saw Cassandra watching her.

~Are you alright?~ She signed

“I am fine, it is just warm down here.” Calpurnia replied, drinking more water.

~It is not warm here. You are pale.~

Calpurnia brushed it off. She was simply exerted. “ I am fine,” She said, and closed her eyes for a moment.

She let her thoughts wander. She thought of why they were here. The cult outbreak had been severe. Millions had died. An entire district burned. A thirsty planet, in quarantine, dying in their hab units. Her thoughts turned to reports of the blood storm the priest Kayde had wrought. A hurricane of blood, blinding all caught in its path... swallowing them in corruption... channels of blood streaming from the throats of women and children into the sky... blood bursting from the ground in great geysers, braying cultists that offer their blood willingly to the storm, blood burning from the heat of the hell below it, forming great red clouds in the sky and slamming the earth with dark heavy fluid that carries exsanguinated corpses on great rivers of human essence. Blood is all there was and all there will ever be.

Calpurnia's eyes snapped open, and she stood with a start. Cassandra was by her side, watching her.

~Are you alright?~ she signed again

“Yes I am fine,” Calpurnia said. “Just thinking”

Cassandra nodded, and slowly turned back to where the servo skull was waiting, near another corpse fill staircase.

Calprnia drank the rest of the water and did some mental exercises to clear her head while they waited for Drayvus. It did not take long before his servo skull lit up blue again and began to speak

+The layer below the one you are on is very sparse, with few passages, and large empty spaces. The builders must have stopped while this layer was under construction. The river travels through this layer, you will see how it saturates the ground. There is no avoiding the blood at this point, you must step in it for a time. There is no path downward, but there is a space beneath us. Sensors detect a large cavern. I believe we have reached the natural geology of the planet. I have the equipment necessary to bore through without disrupting too much terrain, but I must find a suitable weak point. It will not take long once I find it.+

“Very well. Let's go Cassandra.” Calpurnia said, attempting to regain control of the situation that she felt was quickly slipping away.

Calpurnia led them down the steps, and into a low wide open chamber, etched with glow paste. She examined the ground before stepping off the stairs, to find she had already stepped in the blood. The floor here was different from the rest of the catacombs, like a spongy sand and it was saturated red. She looked at the walls and saw they were bleeding from porous spots in the stone.

She could see Drayvus in the distance, the first time since they woke. He was at a far wall with his team of servitors and horde of skulls, smaller than when they left earlier, some having been assigned new tasks. Calpurnia made her way towards him and Cassandra followed. He was assembling some sort of apparatus against the wall, a half circle roughly a meter in diameter with what appeared to be a very powerful laser attached.

As they approached Drayvus told them

+There is a very solid structure behind this wall that goes all the way to the bottom of the cavern I believe. This laser will use it as a guide to bore a hole downward, and give us a structure to rappel off of.+

The thought did not excite Calpurnia, but she nodded and let him finish the assembly, and within minutes it was ready.

They stood back as the laser engaged in a blinding beam of light and sickening cloud of smoke. It burned the hole in a matter of seconds. The cloud of acrid black smoke hung in the air for a second after the machine finished running, but then began to fall into the bored hole. The air around them was pulled into the hole, bringing the smoke with it.. The gust blew dust and debris in the air and the trio covered their faces while it died down. Echoes of the wind howling through the chambers above them made such a din Calpurnia was worried it might have a seismic effect. They listened to the howls die and felt the wind settle for minutes. Eventually, the pressure between the two systems equalized, and Drayvus detached the machine from the wall.

+Permit me a moment to survey the chamber+ Drayvus told them once the machine was disconnected.

A servo skull floated down the hole bearing Drayvus' blue eyes.

+Oh well that is fascinating+ Drayvus said quickly.

+Inquisitor, I believe we have found the point of infection.+

As Drayvus spoke the servitors began working above the bore hole. They shot long bolts into the wall and affixed a large roll of cable which they dropped down.

“What do you mean Drayvus?” Calpurnia asked, enticed.

+There appears to be a unique hydrological feature in this chamber that could be distributing the cursed blood through the planet. There is a waterfall. And on the cavern floor, there are geysers.+

Calpurnia was slightly lost for thought.

“Well, alright then... Lets see it” Was all she could think to say

+I will test the durability of the line and scout the location myself, Inquisitor. Let me fit you two with harnesses quickly.+

He walked to a servitor and pulled two harnesses out of its pack. The two of them stepped into the thick straps and tightened them. Drayvus attached the device that controlled descent.

Before Drayvus attached himself to the line he sent down the servitors, first one, then two, then three, to test the weight. Not a budge in the bolt.

+Wait for my signal to follow+ Drayvus said

Calpurnia nodded to the Tech Priest, who put his hand around the cable, locked into place around it, and lowered himself into the hole.  The rest of the servitors followed.

Calpurnia and Cassandra waited for a tense fifteen minutes before Drayvus’ Servo skull lit up blue and told them it was safe to follow. And to prepare to get wet. They did not have any means to prepare for that eventuality, really. Calpurnia clipped herself to the line first and told Cassandra to wait a couple minutes to follow.

Calpurnia looked down and saw a brightness that she had come to associate with Drayvus' artificial sunlight. He must be lighting the whole cavern. She lowered herself through the stinking scorched hole, around six feet of burned soggy blood soaked earth. She emerged to blinding bright light at the highest level, cursing Drayvus for that, and quickly lowered herself past it. As her vision cleared she found herself hanging by a cable in the middle of a cavern the size of a hive spire. The wall they were anchored on was an odd structure at an angle, and the farther she lowered herself the further away it got. It was like a massive beam that crossed the ceiling of the cavern, earth on all sides of it but the small angle of its circumference they were venturing in.

Calpurnia could not believe they could not hear the sound of the water fall from above. It flowed from a crack in the stonework above and fell on one edge of the cavern floor below with a constant crashing. Calpurnia looked down and felt woozy. It was a long way. The servitors scattered along the floor appeared as small dots.  She saw the water sparkling back up at her. It was so clear she could see through to the brown grey stone underneath, even from up here. She descended through a brisk chill that felt like fresh air and felt her flush skin cool at its touch.

Soon she was at the bottom, and stepped into the water. It came halfway up her shins, and at another time she might have been irritated to get her boots wet. Right now she was mesmerized. She looked around her and saw that the cavern floor extended far, far beyond what she could see from above. The water from the waterfall spread out in all directions. Calpurnia walked to the overhang of the cavern ceiling. She could almost touch it. She heard the servitors splashing in the water as they followed her steps.

She could see Drayvus in the distance. He hadn't applied any glow paste yet, and was lighting the shelf with a servo skull, a dot in a sea of dark in the distance. He was not that far away, and Calpurnia made her way towards him. She heard Cassandra splash down behind her and begin to follow. The sound of splashing footsteps filled the cavern as they made their way towards the tech priest in awe struck silence.

After minutes of walking Calpurnia noticed the servitors had come closer to her. The light from both Drayvus and the artificial sun were fading, and when Calpurnia turned her head to examine her surroundings, they flicked off.

The footsteps stopped. Everyone stopped.

“Drayvus!” Calpurnia yelled into the darkness “What did you do!?”

Burning red eyes appeared in the dark.  The sounds of wet choking replaced the splashing.

The lights flicked back on, but now they were a deep, pulsing red. Calpurnia immediately saw the servitors near here. They stood stock still, backs arched and mouths open. Their veins were convulsing and blood was spilling out of the servitors mouths.

+Cogitating. Cogitating. Cogitating.+ Came Drayvus voice

“Drayvus what is going on” Calpurnia yelled

The servitors' eyes all snap towards Calpurnia in unison.  Their muscles rapidly begin to unlock.

+There is a scrap code infection. It waited for you. Retreat Inquisitor! Cassandra strike them down!+

Everyone began to run at Calpurnia at once. The servitor nearest almost grabbed her but she was able to draw her Volkite pistol and destroy it. The red light began to strobe. A blistering migraine erupted in Calpurnia's skull, making her recoil in pain. She screamed and attempted to regain her vision. A set of the splashing foot steps reached her before she could see through it. It grabbed the iron bracelet around her wrist, and ripped it away with such force that it sheared Calpurnia's thumb and small finger off like razor wire.

Calpurnia screamed again, so hard it broke her voice. She could not see the attacker, her vision occluded by pulsing blood vessels, but she unleashed the pistol in its direction and assumed a hit from the sound. A third set of footsteps reached her and threw her with tremendous strength.

Calpurnia landed in the water, face down, gasping. She began to choke. She struggled to get her mouth out of the water, but a hand pushed her face back under, scraping it against the stone floor. She thought it would crush her skull in seconds, when suddenly the pressure was relieved. She jerked her head above water with a gasp and tried to see again. She saw Cassandra's boots running past. She couldn't hear the footsteps splashing anymore.  She couldn't hear anymore. Everything was red. She looked down at her three fingered hand through the bloody water. She could not feel the pain anymore. As her vision faded she heard a voice

“You steal my birthright. You enter my home. I will have your blood.”

The voice ripped through her guts, and Calpurnia wretched a fountain of red before collapsing face first into the water.

Edited Monday at 02:10 PM by FattyLumpkin
Added chapter 3